Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Before we continued scrounging for items, we siphoned most of the fuel from the vehicles in the parking area. We used them for extending the power being brought by the generators because we discovered it wouldn't last long to cover the time we would be in this place. Despite that, we managed to obtain a few more items from the vehicles we 'borrowed' fuel from.

We found several shopping bags containing various items from the trunks of the civilian vehicles and looking through the glove box and other compartments revealed more. They contained toys, clothes, food, drinks, tools, snacks, electronics, documentations, cleaning products, jumper cables, first-aid kits, and etc.

With that said, the best find out of all the vehicles parked in the area was one of the vehicles itself. The vehicle in question was an ambulance containing various medical supplies like two oxygen tanks, a defibrillator, a stretcher, three sets of trauma kits, and etc. Finding a sticker of the logo of the mall on the windshield led me to think that this ambulance was the property of the mall itself.

"Petrov, can you look for Marina and Ibarra in the maintenance room and check if they somehow stumbled upon the keys for this thing?"

"No problem. What if it isn't there?"

"We'll just find a dead EMS or EMT wearing their uniform and if that doesn't work, let's just hotwire or put everything inside here to our helicopter. I think we have several pushcarts to place them in."

"Okay. I'll head over there now."

Petrov took Stefan with him and they made their way up the stairs. Bogdan actually defected from Artem and was now following right behind me. He still hadn't taken a sip from the bottles I handed him but he was looking super paranoid. He was like Tatiana the first time I met her because he wouldn't get off my back. He was sticking to me like a parasite and he wasn't like this before.

I turned around and sat Bogdan at the back of the ambulance, "Hey. Let's take a break and talk. What's the problem?"

"Uh… nothing. Just get left out for a bit, that's all."

"You have issues with that?"

"Not exactly."

"Are you claustrophobic? I don't mind, I just need to know."

"Not exactly..."

"Then what is it exactly?"

"No, no, don't worry about it. That's my mistake."

"Huh? Your mistake? How?"

"You remember I brought smokes, right?"

"Yeah… Don't tell me you puffed some weed-"

"It's just a work in progress, trust me. I puffed it twice and it's already gone. I didn't finish it yesterday and I already went through my cig-"

"Hey. Look at me. Don't ever do shit like that when we're outside. I don't care what you do in your free time but you know, keep it professional."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I'm not a kid, I know what it does. It's just..."

I scratched my head as I looked at him, "What?"

"That's just a big mistake, alright? I just use it to sleep, that's all. I just happen to run out of cigars so I thought I could swap it for a bit. You could ask-"

"I'm asking you, not them. You could tell me what the fuck is wrong because I'm sure as hell that outburst earlier wasn't normal. It's funny… but that's not you."

"Damn, boy. You're sounding like your girl's mom. What's her name again?"

"Marisha."

"Yeah! Marisha. Matthew's wife, right?"

"Yeah, and you're changing the subject."

"And with all due respect. It's not your business."

"Then I'll make it so."

"You can't jus-"

"Let's trade."

"Huh?"

"I said, let's trade. That's how business works, right? We forgot to get you in a few, I offered those bottles in your bags. I want to know what's going on with you, you think of something of value that you're willing to let go for it. It could be more alcohol, a car, a gun, anything that you could think of as long as we reach an agreement. Sounds fair?"

Bogdan got silent as he just stared at me. Our group would pass us by a few times but they never disturbed us as they continued doing the orders I've left them with. I would've brought Kaley with me right now but she was busy window shopping with Tatiana.

"It's just a stupid story. You'll get bored since you won't understand.."

"Heh, try me."

"You're a nosy one, ain't ya? Fine, let's open one of-"

"Nope."

"Huh?"

"Like weed, no alcohol in the job aside from using it as a disinfectant."

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Nope."

"..."

"You'll start or what?"

"I'm telling you, it's best if we have some-"

"Nope. Want me to die in a helicopter crash? You know I'm driving, right?"

"Fine, I'll drink by myself. Oh nooo~ My mouth got cut up~ Needs some disinfecting~"

"Bogd- fuck."

It only took a few minutes before Bogdan and I walked up the stairs like best buds. The motherfucker finished a bottle on his own and I had to agree to take a sip just so we could head up. He was using me as a crutch as he wobbled all over, but he kept on patting my head with a huge smile on his face.

I wasn't able to stop him from drinking because he finished the bottle in a few big gulps. The guy was like a black hole as he sucked everything from that bottle clean. Good thing we were done with the dead in this area but I'll make sure to strap him down if ever we change locations afterward.

"HAHAHA~! YOU'RE MY BROTHER NOW, NYEBA!!! HAH! WE'LL DRINK MORE ONCE WE GET HOME! FUCK! I THOUGHT I HAD PROBLEMS, DAMN! YOU WIN THIS TIME, NYEBA!"

"Heh, I told you many times. You shouldn't compare them, alright?"

"YEAH, YEAH, YEAH… I GOT IT! I GOT IT! YOU'RE GOOD AT THIS! FUCKING GOOD AT THIS! DA! YOU SHOULD BE A SHRINK, NYEBA! DON'T YOU THINK?! YOU'LL BE GREAT AT THAT AND I'LL BLLLEAAARGHHH!!!"

Bogdan just projectile vomited everything on the floor and everyone present was looking at me like I was the one who was at fault. His vomit filled up the entirety of a deadhead missing everything from its chest cavity. It started spilling over as it sloshed around but the motherfucker beside me wiped his face with my sleeves. I had to chop his neck and ask Mikhail to bring him up while making sure he wouldn't move an inch.

It was then that Kaley approached me, "What did you do? Who's Nyeba?"

"Me. I think it's a rough translation or something. For the record, I have no fucking idea how he downed that bottle in a few seconds. Let's just say he told me a few things and we're bound by doctor-patient confidentiality."

Kaley tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

Tatiana interjected, "It's about Bogdan, obviously. I know all about it, I'll tell you later."

"Wait, that's illegal."

Tatiana shook her head, "No, it's not. Everybody already knows. He'd always tell everyone when he's drunk. He keeps saying it's stupid but I think I'd be scared of my wits if that ever happened to me."

Kaley grew even more curious, "W-What is it then?"

Artem interjected, "How familiar are you with land mines?"

"Land mines? They're traps that explode when you step off of it, right?"

Artem lit up a cigarette, "Nyet. Just tell her the story, it will be a learning experience."

Tatiana mentioned as she looked at Artem, "You're smoking? That's rare."

"Something similar happened to me, that's all. Besides, we live quite close to each other when we were kids so… let's just say it's kind of a 'normal' experience. But what happened to him was way worse than what happened to me, I'll tell you that."

In the end, I was the one pointed out to tell Kaley and the rest of my group that managed to drop in. I already took footage that I decided against it but all I got was weird stares and a kick. I just sighed as I took a seat and then I opened my mouth.

"Unlike in the movies, land mines do not go off after removing your foot from it. It detonates the moment you step on it and the only way to survive that was not fucking stepping on it at all costs. Even now, there are tons and tons of them scattered around the world and most of them are still armed and could kill you in a second."

Kaley asked, "But what happened to Bogdan?"

"What he told me was that he was with his friends playing on a field and one of them just exploded after they heard a short click."

"W-What?!"

"They were all in shock as they ran away but time stopped for him the moment he heard another by his feet."

"Wait-"

"Let me finish."

"..."

"I already explained how a land mine works, right? With that said, Bogdan at his age didn't know jack shit. In his head, his friends left him for dead and he had no one there to help him. He was in the same place for days, stepping on that mine for hours on end until he collapsed from exhaustion. He just woke up in bed extremely dehydrated and his friends didn't even bother to ask for help. He was right in thinking that they left him for dead because he just saw them playing outside the moment he got better. Some friends, right?"